Under ASFA anti-family policies, Michael Terpening is loosing his children, wife and family because he won't plead guilty and plea bargain to something he did not do, even if it means he looses his freedom and his children. Michaels case is just another one of the thousands of stories fabricated by CPS against innocent parents in order to take away their children, and break up their families. The state of Michigan, is trying to take the, Terpening children and put them in the foster care system which is why they have fabricated these stories to eliminate Michael's parental rights. CPS is forcing Amanda his wife to divorce him in order to be allowed to keep the children, but after a spouse is wrongfully convicted, CPS routinely takes the children from the single parent anyway, siting failure to protect them. This is in violation of the constitutional rights of fit and competent parents to raise their own children, without undue government interference. This is a fundamental liberty that has long been protected by the laws and constitution of the United States. Every mis-step real or imagined in a family unit should not have to result in CPS taking the children putting them in foster homes.

UNDER ASFA POLICIES.... CHILDREN ARE DIEING IN FOSTER CARE AT AN ALARMING RATE: Foster Care is a " market-driven adoption mill with children as the industry."DHS/CPS is not focused on the safety of the children who are being taken from their parents and passed around in an unmonitored, overcrowded foster care system so the state can collect money until the "child ages out", at 18 years old with no skills, education, biological family or future and most of them have suffered horrendous emotional, physical and psychological abuse.

Recently, The Tennessean reported, that "31 Tennessee children died within six months after the Department of Children Services got involved in their cases. The dead included 23 babies, four toddlers, one 5-year-old and three teenagers. All these children died from unconscionable acts of torture and abuse. They died after suffering broken bones, drug exposure, asphyxia and drowning. One 2-year-old boy died in a Lincoln County home fire. A Lauderdale County newborn was drowned in a toilet. Some deaths remain unexplained." This is only 31 examples of what is happening to tens of thousands of children, in every state being taken from their parents and put into protective custody to be exploited for billions of dollars in federal payouts to DHS/CPS, while confidentiality laws hide from the public, the horrific abuse, maiming and death of children in state custody.

Overcrowding, torture, death, medical and educational neglect, is the norm for the national foster care system. Thousands of abuse cases, as well as, lawsuits, congressional reports, studies and surveys, all reveal the wide spread abuse of children in every state. These reports name names, dates, and places proving that statistically, the maltreatment of children in foster care far exceeds the abuse reported in their biological families. DHS/CPS who claim to protect our children, have been allowing them to be stolen, abused, maimed and killed in order to collect millions of dollars in adoption bonuses from the federal government. Children are in much greater danger in CPS custody, than in "imperfect homes".

We petion Congress to stop allowing ASFA policies to consistently violate the due process rights of both parents and children:”The First Amendment gives parents, the constitutional right to the care, custody and nurture of their child. And is of such character that it cannot be denied without violating those fundamental principles of liberty and justice which lie at the base of all our civil and political institutions, and such right is a fundamental right protected by this amendment (First) and Amendments 5, 9, and 14. Doe v. Irwin, 441 F Supp 1247; U.S. D.C. of Michigan, (1985). “

We petition Congress to resend ASFA and that every subsequent update and state supportive laws also be rescinded and replaced with the Child Welfare Act laws and statues.

The Adoption and Safe Families Act "ASFA", which is anti-family and focuses on adoption, and family separation, was enacted by Congress in 1997 to amend the 1980 Child Welfare Act, which is pro-family and focuses on family preservation and reunification. Today, in 2012, under ASFA's anti-family federally mandated policies, thousands of abuse cases nationwide, reveal a pattern of physical, sexual and emotional abuses, inflicted upon children who were taken away from their biological parents and put in the custody of Child Protective Services (CPS).

Congress has abandoned the preventive and reunification programs which focused on family preservation and child safety, in favor of ASFA's anti-family policies. Congress refuse to provide meaningful services to at risk families, and created financial incentives for CPS to prefer, foster child adoptions, over keeping families in tact. ASFA reimburses states for the costs of out-of-home foster care placements, but not for services provided to families within the home. Financial incentives and bonuses prompts CPS employees to work diligently to remove more children from their biological families there is no incentives for family preservation. HS/CPS receives federal funds for each child in their custody and the funding continues as long as children are out of their homes, DHS/CPS loses this money if the child is returned home.

We request that congress implement new policies, procedures mandates and incentives through DHS/CPS that emphasize family preservation, as set fourth in the 1980 Child Welfare Act, which focused on family development and reunification.

We request that the funds being used to support ASFA's anti-family policies and incentives, now be used to fund pro-family policies designed to support "at risk families", by providing them with programs to teach them the tools they need to function in a healthy family unit as proposed in our DHS/CPS Guide for Federal and State Legislation Reforms.